THE MEANING OF TAWASSUL IN THE ARABIC LANGUAGE

Before going into this topic in detail I would like to draw attention to an important reason why many people have an incorrect understanding of the meaning of Tawassul, and why they go beyond bounds with regard to it and enter into it things which are not from it. The reason is their lack of understanding of its meaning in the language and their lack of knowledge of it from its original root meaning. This is that the word Tawassul is an original arabic word occuring in the Qur’aan and Sunnah and in ancient arabic poetry and prose, and its meaning is: To draw near to what o­ne seeks after and to approach that which o­ne desires. Ibnul-Atheer said in an-Nihaayah: “Al-Waasil is o­ne who desires or longs for something, and al-Waseelah is nearness and a means, and that by which o­ne is able to approach and draw near to something. Its plural is Wasaail.” Al-Fayroozabaadee said in al-Qaamoos: “’He performed waseelah towards Allah, the Most High,’ means: He did an action in order todraw nearer to Him, as a means of approaching Him.” Ibn Faaris said in Mu’jamul Maqaayees: “Waseelah is to desire and to seek after. o­ne says Waslas for o­ne who wishes and aspires for something, and the Waasil is the o­ne who wishes to draw nearer to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and it occurs in the saying of Labeed: ‘I see that the people do not know the value of their affair, where as every religious person seeks to draw nearer to Allah’”

Ar-Raaghib al-Asfahaanee said in al-Mufradaat: “Al-Waseelah (written with the letter seen) is to approach that which o­ne desires, and it is more particular than al-Waseelah (written with the letter saad) since it includes the concept of being desirous of it. Allah, the Most High says

:وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَة

“Seek the means of approach (al-waseelah) to Him.” (6)

The reality of seeking a waseelah to Allah, the Most High, is: To take care to follow His way with (good) actions and worship, by adhering to the noble qualities required in the sharee’ah. It is like nearness, and the waasil is the o­ne who aspires nearness to Allah, the Most High.”

The famous scholar Ibn Jareer also reports this meaning and then brings as evidence the saying of the poet: “If the informers miss us then we will arrive, and the relations and the means of approach (waseelah) between us will be restored.”

Then there is another meaning for waseelah and it is rank and standing with a king and closeness to him. Just as in the hadeeth, it is the name given to the highest station in Paradise, in his (sallallahu alaihi wa salaam) saying: “When you hear the caller to prayer then say the like of what he says, then send blessings (salaat) upon me, since whoever sends a single blessing upon me, then Allah will send ten upon him because of it. Then ask Allah to grant me al-waseelah because it is a station in paradise which is appropriate o­nly for a single servant from the servants of Allah, and I hope that it will be me. So whoever ask for al-waseelah to be granted to me then my intercession is due for him.” (7)

As is clear, the last two meanings for waseelah are closely connected to its original meaning, however they are not what is meant in this treatise of ours.

THE MEANING OF WASEELAH IN THE QUR’AAN

What we have presented so far is the meaning that is well-known in the language, and nobody disagrees about that. It is also the meaning given by the Pious Predecessors (as-Salafus-Saalih) and the imaams of tafseer in explanation of the two aayaat in which the word al-waseelah occurs. They are the saying of Allah, the Most High:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. Seek the means of approach (al-waseelah) to Him, and strive hard in His Cause as much as you can. So that you may be successful.” (8)

يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا

Those whom they call upon [like ‘Iesa (Jesus) ­ son of Maryam (Mary), ‘Uzair (Ezra), angel, etc.] desire (for themselves) means of access (al-waseelah) to their Lord (Allah), as to which of them should be the nearest and they [’Iesa (Jesus), ‘Uzair (Ezra), angels, etc.] hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord is something to be afraid of!"(9)

As for the first aayah then the imaam of the scholars of tafseer al-Haafidh Ibn Jareer [at-Tabaree], rahimahullaah, said in explanation of it: “O you who affirm whatever Allah and His Messenger inform you of, and affirm whatever reward He promised and whatever punishment He threatened “Fear Allah” He says: Respond to Allah by obeying Him regarding whatever He has ordered or forbidden “and seek a means of approach to Him” He says: And seek to draw near to Him by doing actions which are pleasing to Him.”

Al-Haafidh Ibn Katheer reports from Ibn Abbaas, radiyallaahu anhumaa, that the meaning of waseelah is to draw closer. He also reports the like of that from Mujaahid, Aboo Waail, al-Hasan, Abdullaah ibn Katheer, as-Suddee, Ibn Zayd and others. He also reports from Qataadah that he said about it: “That is: that you draw near to Him by obedience to Him and through action that is pleasing to Him.” Then Ibn Katheer said: “And with regard to what those imaams said there is no disagreement between the scholars of tafseer about it… and al-waseelah is that by means of which o­ne reaches that which he desires.” (10)

As for the second aayah, then the distinguished companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ood, radiyallaahu anhu, explained the circumstances in which it was sent down, which clarifies its meaning, He said: “It was sent down concerning a group of arabs who used to worship a group of jinn, the the jinns accepted Islaam unknown to the people who worshipped them.” (11)

Al-Haafidh Ibn Hajr, rahimahullaah,(12) said: “That is the people who used to worship the jinn continued to worship the jinn, and the jinn were not pleased with that since they had accepted Islaam, and they were the o­nes who sought a means of nearness to their Lord, this is what is reliable with regard to tafseer of the aayah.”

This is very clear that what is meant by the waseelah is those actions by which o­ne draws nearer to Allah, the Most High, therefore He said “they seek” i.e. they seek to do righteous actions as will bring them closer to Allah, the Most High. It also clearly shows the very strange case – contrary to sound and unblemished thinking – that some people direct their worship and their supplication to some of the servants of Allah, fearing them and placing hope in them, despite the fact that those servants whom they are worshipping have themselves openly declared their Islaam and their servitude to and their worshipping of Allah, and they have hastened to perform deeds to bring them nearer to Him, the o­ne free of all imperfections, performing righteous deeds which He loves and is pleased with, hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. So Allah, the Most Perfect, declares the foolishness of the empty hopes of those ignorant people who worshipped the jinn and continued to worship them despite the fact that they were themselves created beings and worshippers of Allah and weak and powerless before Him, just like the humans themselves. They did not posses any benefit or harm for themselves, and Allah rebukes those people for not directing their worship to Him alone, the Blessed and Most High, since He alone is the o­ne who controls harm and benefit, and in His hand is the command and protection of everything.

6) Surah al-Maaidah (5):35

7) Reported by Muslim (translation 1/209/ no-747), the four Sunan and others and it is brought in my book Irwaaul-Ghaleel (no.242)

8) Surah al-Maaidah (5):35

9) Surah al-Israa (17):57

10) Tafseer Ibn Katheer (2/52-53)

11) Reported by Muslim (translation 4/1555/no.7182) and its like is reported by al-Bukhaaree (translation 6/202/no.238) and in a wording of his: “so the jinns accepted Islaam but those people remained upon their religion.”